Truestar

It may be beneficial to see a massage therapist. Not the "relaxing" stereotype but someone who knows the body and can dig around. We have a neurological massage therapist in our town, and it's not someone you go to see for an hour of relaxation but boy does it clear things up!

I've had a bo but only recently started gathering good enough coordination to actually train with it other than the traditional bo form. For instance tonight we did some cool stuff. I can almost figure 8 around my body. My right side is good and I can do a medium speed pass behind my back, but my left hand needs some coordination work. I dislocated my thumb a couple months ago, so sometimes the bo rolls over that thumb just right and ouch! I worked with a very light wooden 6 foot bo tonight, I like it a lot better than my 5 foot graphite bo. Look up some bo competitions too, some of the stuff you can eventually do with it is good inspiration.

I've been watching a lot of XMA bo forms. Setting aside my opinion about XMA, the speed some of these guys whip their bo around is impressive. I imagine the bo they use is specifically for that kind of competition, it's probably very light and not something you would take into a fight for a weapon. Do you think it's more beneficial to attain this kind of "flair" with a typical wooden bo? I didn't put this in weapons because my query I guess is more based on the fundamentals of XMA compared to other arts. XMA is a lot of show, however I do like the way some of them can throw their weapons around, and that kind of training is something I would imagine you have to do on the side if you are learning a more traditional Martial Art. Kind of a broad question I'm asking I guess. What are your thoughts on achieving the XMA finesse while maintaining a real Martial Arts philosophy and ability?

Take each workout seriously, when you feel you want to quit: don't. Make sure to attend every class you should, and if you miss one make it up. either 2 days, or if you can 3 or 4 days a week is ideal. Drink plenty of water all day, before, during and after. Stay away from gatorades and stuff like that. Water water water. If you can, also get a good intake of protein after class. Look into protein bars or protein shakes, and if you can make sure to get this protein as soon as you can after class. If you have to, do it before. Since I started taking Tae-Kwon-Do much more seriously I've lost a lot of fat and gained a lot of muscle in a matter of 6 months and less.

Thanks bushido. I'll work on a nice presentation for it to put up on my wall then, until it's needed that is.

Yeah, I know the Shinai isn't traditional for Korean arts, so this would be a blended aspect of our school. So far the only people I've known for him to give a shinai to is himself, another, with much respect, older ( ) black belt, and myself. He did mention it to me when he gave it to me that I'd need one to assist in testing students. The shinai does not serve a large purpose in our school. He uses it on students testing for red belt, up into the Dan ranks. For their test it's used as a contact drill and we all can see why. Honestly, I'm not that surprised there's no patterns for it. I was merely exploring it more. I know some Martial Arts use katanas, and if I haven't been mislead they have patterns with them. I was wondering if the shinai served as a substitute for a blade. In all, I know why I have it. Just wondering to what extent it gets used other than just hitting students.

So my instructor recently gave me a bamboo shinai, which he does to few students. I don't know the extent of other arts or cultures but I would consider the combination of being given a key and a shinai the same as some instructor giving their student a katana. I think it resembles a lot of trust and respect. Are there any forms that are done with the shinai?

iFroggy birthdays have a habit of sneaking up. Happy birthday!

Luckily as a TKD practitioner the tournaments I've attended are not WTF based, so we've been lucky enough to use our hands as much as our feet in competition as we do in class.

Yeah I can almost see it. But consuming something as delicious as jello having a noticeable and positive impact on my joints? A deeper medical explanation would drive me to heaven.

Not that I doubt your statements, but would there happen to be a good explanation of how Jell-O works? If its convincing enough, I'll make sure there's a steady supply in the house.

I guess it depends on how he lost. Was he not expecting a hit? Was he suddenly attacked and knocked out? Was his work just plain sloppy? If it was a general instructor more than likely I would trust it just wasn't his fight to win. We can't always come out on top. If anything I would hope he takes it as a learning experience and reflects upon the fight as to see what techniques are working, and maybe new drills in class to work on to help the situation. If it was my current instructor I'd feel the same way. Fact of the matter is, you can't win every fight. Then again if there was a definite weight and height advantage to my instructor, I should trust he can handle that situation. It's not to say the smaller are weaker, but the reach has great advantages. An interesting situation regardless.

Some people have mentioned losing respect not for the loss of the fight, but for the loss of control. Fact is, a black belt doesn't make you a great fighter just by wearing it and we all know that. But it also doesn't make you a top notch negotiator. What if the fight was just bound to happen with no way of avoiding it? Obviously a lot of applicable "what ifs".

My instructor had the same complaint a couple weeks ago. He mentioned while working out with another black belt they were starting to feel the insert, and that's indicating the material is wearing out... They are nice bags, but not the quality they should be.

I know there is such thing as too much exercise when building muscle mass. To build you tear, but they must repair. (Rhyme not intended ). I have a push up, dips, and chin up routine for real basic exercises. However I do these everyday. We have Whey protein and when there's eggs in the house, I always cook them for breakfast. Not to mention dinner usually sparks a milk interest. Even with the protein intake, is doing the routine everyday too much? Should I work hard every other day, and use the ones in between to rest my body. Or should I do a small workout every other day, and the other days work it hard? What's best for simple maintenance workouts?

As far as technique and sparring are concerned I've always been a fan of my left. I think it's maybe because my right leg is dominant in terms of balance, making it easier to kick with the left. Who knows? I've never analyzed my forms though, I'll do that tonight.

The hardest part to remember is yes, they are very young children who have not even nearly approached an age where truly understanding the Martial Arts is possible. But when you can't even do basic motor function activities without having to chase down a three year old, it gets slightly ridiculous. My instructor has an aura about him, knows how the handle children like that, and I can only learn from him.

I was too young to know the difference of Martial Arts styles and knew of only one school...the one my parents signed me up to. I have no regrets and wouldn't have started or transferred anywhere else.

Well, I can't say I will give any sympathy if he ends up injured or seriously beat down. We'll see what he's made of I suppose.

Definitely quite the scenario then. Once again, not to bring sex as a factor but any group of guys willing to outright hit one woman, let alone two or three are serious thugs as already stated. The way of your recovery is up to you. You can fully recover if you let yourself.

I would learn from the entire confrontation than anything. As a Martial Artist maybe it would have been better to watch the alcohol intake? If I'm not mistaken your ability to hold alcohol without the effects hitting as hard is something that can be improved. Maybe spend a night at home once a week slowly increasing that intake to a "bar social" level without any problems? If you can get to that level an maintain equivalent skills in the dojo I'd say that's a good balance. I'm 17, I'm never drank alcohol other than a sip of grandpa's wine once and awhile so I'm speaking purely from a "childs" (if you must) perspective. Drinking with some friends isn't something we should feel we can't do as Martial Artists. There's nothing like sitting with the guys a little buzzed laughing and having a good time. It's our condition afterwards and what we feel we're responsible for. A) They were your friends, and a woman was involved. Not to be sexist but generally speaking a gentleman looks out for a woman, whether or not they can defend themselves, it's just chivalry. So making the inital approach wasn't a mistake. B) As a Martial Artist you had an understanding that a confrontation was on the horizon and could have easily arrived. With that in mind you also stepped in. Nothing wrong with that either. So whether alcohol resistance is what should be worked on, or maybe cutting out a majority of alcohol I don't know. This is just my opinion and due to my lack of experience in the world may not be the most valid.

Cool. I normally just do a classic push up then, I remember something about Hindu pushups and more but have never experimented. Any good ones? Sounds like Bastich has a pushup that tones more than just the upper body.

I'm actually unfamiliar with the term press-up, are these push ups or something similar? If so, are you doing them any specific way to feel them so much? Nothing like a small morning routine especially if it can be done in a reasonable amount of space!

We had a 3 year old join our Little Ninjas recently. I must say she's a cute little girl, but I do think it's a bit soon for her to be enrolled in the program. Class feels more like babysitting than preparing these kids for Martial Arts in a few years. Our Monday/Wednesday Ninjas have a severe issue with maturity, and yes I know as to be expected as they are extremely young. One kid leaves their stance, three more follow. One kid asks a question, the other kid mocks their voice and copies. "Can I ask you something? Can I ask you something? Can I ask you something? Can I ask you something? Can I ask you something?" NO you can't. But it just doesn't stop. I have only been an assistant instructor for a year now. I started helping at red belt around a year and few months ago and have made it this far. I've come a long way and have been told I do very well. However today I just felt overwhelmed, our school instructor is away and left the school to me, certainly a sign of trust and a great honor. I've never actually felt overwhelmed before like I did today. Normally I can separate the kids raise my voice slightly and things even out, but today was a joke. I decided to just take the 3 year old to her mother. Any tips on maintaining 6 especially rowdy Ninjas? I understand kids that young aren't going to be fit for a militaristic discipline, and like I said, 99% of the time I can gain control. But today was just a lot to do. At the end of their class today I sat with them an explained how they weren't using what they've learned. The 3 Rules for Self-Improvement (Focus your Eyes, Mind, and Body) and the 5 Tenets (Courtes, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control, Indomitable Spirit). I asked them if they think they exercised these teachings in class, and they said yes. I kindly said they didn't and tried to point out specifics of what they didn't do to show respect. I denied them throwing the balls around at the end of class, which has recently become a focus of them attending the school. WHICH we are definitely fixing. My talk was probably a lot for a bunch of 5 year olds, but I tried to explain it best I could that they would understand. Such as they didn't "Focus their eyes" by not looking at me during directions, etc. Sooooo yeah. More of a little vent than anything, normally they are much better but today was just a little much. I have learned a lot of patience through teaching them, and hopefully they are learning what we're trying to teach them as well. We'll see in a few years and see who is left to move up to the junior classes.

I buttered through 3 blocks at a demonstration literally without a problem, nor any stinging afterward and it hardly swelled. I'm thinking I'll be ready for 4 this weekend at a tournament.